Review: Netflix's 'Death By Lightning' gives a historical footnote a jolt
Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, and Nick Offerman lead a rollicking retelling of the assassination of President James Garfield
The Netflix limited series Death By Lightning opens with a title card that reads,"This is the true story about two men the world forgot. One was the 20th president of the United States. The other shot him."
The assassination of James Garfield by Charles Guiteau is a historical footnote on almost every level. Garfield was shot only four months into his presidency, before he had accomplished much beyond shutting down a feud within the Republican Party. He doesn't even hold the record of briefest presidency, because William Henry Harrison died a month after taking office. If people know anything about Garfield or Guiteau, it's because they were characters in the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins.
